As Hurricane Milton surges toward the west coast of Florida, travel disruptions are spreading across the state, with airports and amusement parks announcing closures, airlines adding and canceling flightshit-bonus, and cruise companies altering ship routes.
Visit Florida, the state’s official tourism organization, warned that Hurricane Milton is expected to grow and remain “extremely dangerous” as it approaches land. The storm is forecast to make landfall in the Tampa Bay region on Wednesday.
In a travel advisory issued on Tuesday, the organization warned of damaging winds and a life-threatening storm surge. “This is an extremely life-threatening situation,” said Visit Florida, advising that those in the surge warning areas “should follow advice given by local officials and evacuate immediately if told to do so.”
Florida is one of the world’s most popular vacation hot spots. According to Visit Florida, the state received a record 140.6 million visitors in 2023, an increase of 2.3 percent from 2022.
Here’s how travel is being disrupted by the hurricane.
Closed airports, canceled flightsMultiple airports in Florida have closed or will do so ahead of Hurricane Milton’s anticipated landfall. Tampa International Airport and Sarasota Bradenton International Airport closed on Tuesday, as did St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, which will remain closed through Thursday. Others announced plans to close Wednesday: Orlando International Airport and Orlando Sanford International Airport will close at 8 a.m.; Daytona Beach International Airport will close at 10 a.m.; Melbourne Orlando International Airport will close at 2 p.m. and reopen at 9 a.m. on Friday; and Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers will close through Thursday.
Other airports announced that they were monitoring the storm, and advised travelers to brace for flight disruptions and to contact their airlines for the latest information.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.hit-bonus